~ Bought and sold in excess of one kilogram of heroin in Portsmouth and Norfolk ~

NORFOLK, Va. – Theodore M. Vann, aka Flatline, 32, of Portsmouth, Virginia, and Antwane L. Williams, aka Neno, 26, also of Portsmouth, pleaded guilty today to charges relating to their distribution of heroin in Norfolk. Vann also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Vann and Williams were indicted by a grand jury on May 17, 2015, and will be sentenced on Sept. 24, 2015. Vann faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreements, Vann was the highest ranking member of the Bloods gang set Gorilla Mafia Piru. Together with his fellow gang member and second in command, Antwane Williams, they manufactured and distributed in excess of one kilogram of heroin in Portsmouth from late 2013 to August 2014. Vann and Williams conspired with co-conspirators to distribute heroin in the Ghent area of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and other places throughout the Eastern District of Virginia.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after the pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office with the assistance of the Portsmouth Police Department. Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-60.